There is a 30x18 Stick of pine there being used as a spacer to ensure that the back stays the same width as the front. Looks like that will become the tool rack. Just needs a lot of 1/2" holes, but perhaps I should cut a decorative bead into it.
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There is a 30x18 Stick of pine there being used as a spacer to ensure that the back stays the same width as the front. Looks like that will become the tool rack. Just needs a lot of 1/2" holes, but perhaps I should cut a decorative bead into it.
Finished the T&G boards and it got the first coat of paint. I went with a water-based exterior paint in Brunswick Green. Started with the back-boards using a 2 inch brush, painted the sides then had my dinner. After that, the paint was touch-dry so I turned the chest around and painted the front. I like the decorative beading on the back, so I might cut some beading into the fall-front. Pine plus are almost invisible under the paint. I'm thinking of putting in some cut tacks as decorative items - I know some may think of it as fakery, but I am starting to think I'm liking more of the traditional aesthetic. I can only get them in 25mm from Bunnings. If they were available in 40mm or 50mm, I would have used them in the original construction.
Attachment 473265
Attachment 473266
Looks good. Be a jumble of tools in no time!
I tried some brass non-mortice hinges and immediately hated them, so I tried some 8 inch strap hinges. I'll be painting them black.
Attachment 473333
Attachment 473334
And the lid is finished. Cut a shallow rebate around 3 edges and a round-over on the front. Made up a couple of racks for the tools and a till for the backsaws. Lid came back off so I can paint the hinges and try out a till for the panel saws.
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Attachment 473502
The hinges were painted today. They first got a coat of some primer that was recommended to me. Apparently, certainly paints don't adhere well to zinc-galvanised hardware. Then two coats of black. They were allowed to dry for a couple of hours before being re-installed on the tool chest and a couple of touch-up spots were put in with a small brush. I also painted the screw heads black to match. This looks so much nicer now.
Just have to make the till for the two panel saws on the lid and the project is done, save for little details and tidying up.
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Attachment 473621
Looks great. If you want to get the gal finish off just soak in a vinegar or citric acid solution first. Then paint.
Lots of hand tools have been following me home lately, so I recently built a Dutch tool chest to store them. Decided to post here since this appears to be a running thread for DTC builds.
The chest is made of 3/4" plywood and pine panels reclaimed from a bed headframe picked up from kerbside collection. Finger joints for the carcase with housing dado for the shelf. The carcase joinery is a bit ordinary (lots of gaps), I filled them up with a mix of saw dust and PVC glue.
Attachment 483012
The fixed front panels were simply nailed to the carcase.
The chest is going to be placed on a workbench, so in order to be able to see inside the top compartment I made the fixed panel for the top compartment foldable using piano hinge. Installing the hinge took a bit of an effort. I marked the edges with a knife and chiselled out the recess since I don't have a rebate or shoulder plane yet). That took the whole afternoon but twas a good chisel handling practice for me.
Traditional milk paint finish was the first preference, so I tried making it DIY with low-fat long-life milk powder, hydrated lime and acrylic paint for colouring - but it proved to be a complete disaster. There was not enough body to cover the blemishes on the B/C grade plywood and the paint didn't stick. No doubt there was something wrong with my mixing process. To salvage the project, I scraped the milk paint and decided to use store bought paint instead (from Bunning's reject tray). The grain on the pine panels looks quite nice, so these were coated with shellac. This turned out well and I quite like the look of it. All the exposed panel can be opened, and the painted ones are fixed.
Attachment 483013
There is a drawer/tool tray in the bottom compartment for bit and pieces. I also made a latch on the side wall to place the locking piece to keep the lid open as shown below (this is the same locking piece used to lock the bottom compartment). I thought it was a good idea until...........
Attachment 483014
I placed the chest on the workbench as intended! There is not enough headroom and the lid cannot be opened fully, so I can't use the latch!! :roll: Hence the locking piece is simply placed diagonally to act as a simple prop to keep the lid open.
Attachment 483015
Learnt a lot from this build, even simple stuff such as installing hinges. It took me quite a while to install the two hinges for the lid: making the recess and ensuring that it was installed square to the carcase. In the first few tries, the lid wasn't properly closed (massive gap on one side) and screamed an almighty squeak every time it's s opened/closed. It still is now, but not as much. I loosened some of the screws to give a bit of play on the hinges to prevent the squeak. Not perfect but works ok so far, the lid hasn't fallen off yet!:-
Andy